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Wednesday, May 14, 2014

Crunchy Roasted Chickpea Snack

I am always looking for new snack ideas outside the basic pretzels and apple routine, particularly snacks with some protein! My kids are tired of cheese sticks, hummus and yogurt tubes, so I always feel like I am grasping at straws... an egg? some almonds? I recently came across a recipe for roasted chickpeas that I thought sounded fun. Beans are great sources of fiber, protein, trace minerals and phytonutrients. Just a quarter cup of chickpeas provides 9 grams of fiber and 10 grams of protein, much more than those processed pretzels! What is particularly fun about roasted beans is the bite-size snacking and fun crunch they offer. Crispy, salty and full of flavor, they offer a great alternative to chips:

Crunchy Roasted Chickpeas

1 can chickpeas (15 oz)

2 teaspoons olive oil

1/4 teaspoon salt

1/4 teaspoon garlic powder

Preheat oven to 425

Drain and rinse chickpeas

Blot with a paper towel to remove moisture

Combine chickpeas with oil, garlic powder and salt and stir well... Feel free to add your own seasoning combinations at this point. My kids are picky so I
just stuck to the basics but these would be delicious with herbs,
paprika or cayenne pepper!

Spread the chickpeas on a baking sheet and bake for 20 minutes

Stir, then bake for another 5-10 minutes if needed until crisp but not burnt